To start on the food prep of Day 4, we need to back-up to the evening of Day 3. Before I banked the fire and called it a night, Robert Shockley and I emptied a half gallon of "homemade" buttermilk into a cheese cloth and left it drain by the fire. The plan was to extend the draining time until the evening of Day 4 and enjoy it with our greens and mushrooms, plank salmon, and roasted beets. This plan turned out even better than we had expected. But first - let's talk about buttermilk.
Some buttermilk in the modern grocery stores is cultured when you buy it. After using one such variety the week prior to make cheese for the journey to Gulf Wars, I refilled the half gallon container with fresh whole milk and gave it a shake or three WITHOUT rinsing the buttermilk container. This was part of my plan. During our journey down, the milk would be refrigerated, slowing reactions of the leftover acids with the whole milk. The day before I would need it, the milk is set out and left at "room temperature" to fully develop as a new 1/2 gallon of buttermilk. The whey and milk fat solids separate at room temperature (low heat can help speed up the process) and you have the making of buttermilk cheese without a lot of mess or worry. I could have stopped there but I had plans. We noted the lovely smoky flavor our foods had after cooking over the fire and I wanted to see if we could infuse some of that smoky flavor into the cheese for dinner the following night. So into a cheese cloth, the buttermilk went and a small pot was set below the cloth to catch the whey. As the fire smoke shifted, I move the cheese to stay in its flow. About mid afternoon, I added 2 tsp of smoked applewood salt. Before I reveal the results, I should tempt you with our meals.
Breakfast - Sour Apple Pottage
Breakfast was again cooked in the propane crockpot. This recipe is incredibly flexible and full of textures. I start with a tablespoon or two of butter, brown the walnuts (optional) and start the apples cooking. Everything was rough chopped since much would cook down during its preparation. To this apple, nut, butter mixture, we added steel cut oats, water, and a bit of salt. Allow the pottage to simmer until the cereal is cooked. Serve with honey if desired. Cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices can also be added depending on the culture you want to portray. You can also make this dish with berries, pears, apricots, or other kinds of nuts. If you are representing a late winter dish, you may see a combination of dried fruits or nuts as your stores of fresh would have dwindled.
Dinner - Greens and Mushrooms, Plank Salmon, Ember-Roasted Beets, and Smoked Cheese
After such a filling breakfast many of my camp ate lightly at lunch or not at all. This evening meal was one of the most preparation intensive of my plan and much of the afternoon was spent cutting and chopping. The results were worth the efforts. Remember back on Day 1 we explained our set-up for vegetable storage (hanging from our tent with a damp towel refreshed daily)? Well now speed up to Day 4 and our vegetables have wilted slightly and the collards began to change color from bright green to a green gold color. This did not worry me as tonight's green dishes were sautéed in butter and steamed by the fire. To prepare the collard greens and beet leaves, I dampened dish towels and wiped the leaves free of dirt. My camp and I agreed this was the best way to conserve our water although it took longer than immersion. Once clean, the stems were removed, leaves stacked, and cut into bite size pieces prior to cooking. Mushrooms were prepared by peeling the outer skins off so washing or brushing clean was not required. Spring onions were added to the mix. Both were then sliced and set aside to add to the greens.
Beets were added to the hot edge of the fire and covered with coals, they were the first to start over the fire and the last to be removed. I retrieved them before they became more burnt sacrifices and served them after the main meal was started. Given these were red sugar beets, they made a fine ending to our meal. But I digress. . .
Here our plan versus reality reared its large head. Our pot for the greens was too small for our volume. My preference would be to cook the greens in batches, blanching them in hot water first, then into their butter sauté. That was not a preference this time since the meat pot from yesterday needed a better scour than I could provide with the tools at hand. The greens and mushrooms were split into smaller ramekins and cooked in batches. When we combined them,
garlic and green onions were sautéed in butter before the greens and mushrooms were added. I kept the pots on the cooler side of the fire to slow their cooking so we would have some texture to our greens mixture when our main was complete.
Our main is a barley malt and herb salmon steamed on a pecan plank salvaged from our wood pile. This sounds really fancy. In truth it was a brainstorm by my campmates and was the most inventive dish we made all war. Salmon was removed from its wrapper and washed. Salt, herbs, and the barley malt were sprinkled on the flesh of the fish. Also on this side, we sliced thin slits into the salmon and stuffed those with more herbs mostly dill and rosemary. The salmon was tied to a plank and placed at the edge of the fire. Halfway through its cooking, we turned the plank 180 degrees so the top became the bottom allowing both halves to cook. Just when the salmon looked like it would fall off the plank, I pulled it from the fire and called our camp to dinner. Most were circling the fire looking like vultures before the feast. The smells of this meal were amazing.
We burnt our fingers breaking off pieces of fish for our first taste of our creation. After that we checked the cheese. Necessity said we should try the cheese with the greens, the fish, and anything else that was not nailed down. Runners were sent to other camps to test the validity of our experiment - we didn't want to appear biased or anything : )
Our meal was a success. All spices and flavors could be documented if not most of the preparation methods. Alas, we may need to try the salmon again . . .
I hope you have enjoyed Day 4's preparation and presentation as much as we did. With one day to go there are clouds gathering on the horizon. Day 5 will be posted soon. Until then, I will see you at the fire.
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